Joe Russo’s Almost Dead Concludes Two Night Los Angeles Stand

Joe Russo’s Almost Dead continued a brief West Coast swing last night by playing their second of two shows at The Teragram Ballroom in Los Angeles. The five-piece act treated the sold-out crowd in the City of Angels to two jam-filled sets of their take on the music of the Grateful Dead, which once again featured a nod to Pink Floyd.

Drummer Joe Russo, guitarists Scott Metzger and Tom Hamilton, keyboardist Marco Benevento and bassist Dave Dreiwitz began their third set on the Left Coast with an open-ended jam that saw the band work in teases of “Victoria” by The Kinks and the traditional tune “Will The Circle Be Unbroken” before eventually landing on “Cumberland Blues.” The Workingman’s Dead track featured a tease of “Here Comes Sunshine” as it segued into a Metzger-sung take on “The Music Never Stopped.” In the midst of the Bob Weir/John Perry Barlow tune JRAD nodded to Pink Floyd for the second time in as many nights as they jammed on “Money” a night after they debuted The Dark Side Of The Moon track with Jonathan Wilson.

A reprise on “The Music Never Stopped” came out of the “Money Jam” with “Bertha” and “Viola Lee Blues” following. Last night’s version of “Viola Lee” saw the Dead tribute act fit in teases of “Throwing Stones,” the Allman Brothers’ “In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed” and Rod Stewat’s 1978 hit “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy.” “Wharf Rat” and Buddy Holly’s “Not Fade Away” brought the band’s first set to a close.

Joe Russo’s Almost Dead opened their final set in L.A. with “Good Lovin’,” and segued The Rascals’ number one hit single into a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Silvio,” which was one of two songs he co-wrote with Robert Hunter for his 1988 album Down In The Groove, a LP that also featured Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir and Brent Mydland on backing vocals. The much-beloved Jerry Garcia Band staple “Reuben & Cerise” followed, with JRAD winding its way into “Eyes Of The World.” The Wake Of The Flood jam vehicle saw the band nodding back to “Reuben & Cerise,” as well as dropping in a tease of Tears For Fears’ “Head Over Heels,” before the quintet worked its way into another big jam tune – “The Other One.” A tease-filled “Shakedown Street” brought the second set to a close, with JRAD ending the evening with a take on “Ripple.”

Joe Russo’s Almost Dead finish up their West Cost run tonight as they move up the coast for a gig at the historic Fox Theater in Oakland, California.

Setlist (Compiled by Peter Costello)

Set I (9:02pm – 10:36pm) Jam @ -> Cumberland Blues # -> Music Never Stopped -> Money Jam ## -> Music Never Stopped Reprise -> Bertha $ > Viola Lee Blues %, Wharf Rat ^ > Not Fade Away $

Set II (11:00pm – 12:31am): Good Lovin * -> Silvio -> Ruben & Cherise -> Eyes Of The World + -> The Other One @@ > Shakedown St $$

Encore: Ripple

• @ – With “Victoria” (The Kinks) & “Will The Circle Be Unbroken” (Ada R. Habershon & Charles H. Gabriel) Teases (Band)
• # – With a Here Comes Sunshine Tease (Band)
• ## – Instrumental, incomplete version of a Pink Floyd Cover
• $ – With an Unknown Tease from Marco of a song the Duo used to play.
• % – With a Throwin Stones Tease (TH), an In Memory of Elizabeth Reed Tease (Band?) and a “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy” (Rod Stewart) Tease (MB)
• ^ – With a Dark Star Tease (TH) & a They Love Each Other Tease (TH)
• & – With a “Duo Jam”
• * – With “La Bamba” (Ritchie Valens) teases (MB)
• + – With Rubin and Cerise teases (Band), a “Head Over Heels” (Tears for Fears) Tease (TH), an Unknown Tease (MB then Band), a DD bass solo, played with the 1973 ending changes
• @@ – With a tease of what I think was an early Metallica song (TH)
• $$ – With Eyes (the 1973 ending part) Teases (SM & MB), a “Serpentine Fire” (Earth, Wind & Fire) tease (MB) and Casey Jones Teases (SM)